Darlaston festival celebrates cultures
Clowns, African drummers and a reggae band all featured during a cultural festival in Darlaston.
The event at All Saints Church celebrated cultures across the borough.
Church bosses hailed the festival a success, saying it was a good opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together.
Various cultural exchange visits also took place during the run up to the festival, with Muslims visiting St Gabriel's after members of the church had previously visited their mosque.
Gilbert David, the Reverend of All Saints Church, said: "This was a great opportunity for faith groups and for those of no faith to throw open their doors and welcome each other into our places of worship.
"Darlaston has an enviable reputation as a town where different communities get on together exceptionally well. Let us celebrate and build upon this."
Saturday's event, which ran from noon to 4pm, was organised by the Walsall Multi-Faith Forum and funded by Walsall Housing Group.
It was also supported by Walsall Council, local schools, mosques and temples, which all helped promote the event by handing out leaflets with the slogan, We Are Near Neighbours. Guests on the day were given the opportunity to see a showcase of local arts and take part in crafts activities. Visitors could also meet grassroots enterprises, and voluntary and third sector organisations, and learn about recruitment opportunities with local employers, while guests could showcase cultural songs, stories, poetry and dance. A key objective of the project for organisers was to establish a local interfaith and community organisation within Daralston, similar to the Walsall Multi-faith Forum.
The group would serve as a platform to deliver similar projects within the town as part of its annual cultural calendar. Walsall Multi-faith Forum has launched similar initiatives in the past including its STAR programme.
The scheme, short for Standing Together Against Racism, was set up in April 2004 to promote respecting diversity, celebrating harmony and encouraging the community to work together for the good of Walsall. The forum has also hosted events to mark St George's Day and Holocaust Memorial Day.
